Love Actually
by UseTheForce3434
Summary: Part of an old arrangement, Prince Axel is engaged to Larxene but Axel can't stand her. Now as the wedding darws near, her family has moved in to plan the wedding. But what happens when he falls in love with a certain blond servant? Various pairings. R&R!


_**Eighteen years earlier**_

"So it's settled then. Your first daughter will marry our first son." King Reno signed the document then handed it to the king of Dalmasca.

"Those are agreeable terms. And as part of this marriage our two kingdoms shall become one." He too signed the paper and handed it back to the king Hollow Bastion.

"In a matter of speaking." Reno corrected. "We will have joint custody of the Gummi Trade Highway as well as the territory of both worlds."

"Yes. And when is it agreed that the children should marry? I raise a hand for sixteen."

King Reno shook his head. "No, that is far too young. I think eighteen is fairly reasonable. They will both be adults and shall have had plenty of time to enjoy their childhood.

King Rasler contemplated this decision until he came to his final conclusion, "Fair enough."

The two men shook hands and it was settled.

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Now this pact goes deeper than just a simple custom that two royals must marry. These two families have been on edge with one another for quite some time over land, munny, and power over trade. Hollow Bastion had it all and they were the envy of several kingdoms, especially Dalmasca. One reason in particular being the monopoly HB had over the only gummi trade route available. This made The kingdom even wealthier causing the jealousy of their enemies to grow. Dalmasca was number two on the list for wealthiest world and number one for military force. So if they ever called for a war they could attack with as much force as necessary and still be able to pay for it. Wishing to gain land as well as munny, they called for war on HB. To prevent this attack, the king called for a negotiation. Thus resulting in their harmonious decision. Or so they thought. . . .

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Axel Gainsborough, the first and only son of King Reno and Queen Aerith, was absolutely _**not**_ going along with this plan as peacefully as his father had hoped he would. Despite both families attempts to allow Axel and princess Larxene spend as much time as time as possible together in hopes of the two forming a relationship, the young prince saw Larxene as nothing more than another girl he happened to know and this marriage as some sort of cruel punishment. He resented each new day, for with every sunrise and sunset time drew nearer and nearer towards the wedding. Axel made it know every chance he could that he was extremely unhappy and unwilling to do this, but God forbid they should ever listen. As far as he was concerned this marriage was a curse. And no one knew that better than his best friend Demyx.

Axel told him everything since they first met at Hollow Bastion Academy. The red haired teen had a lot tension built up but no one to vent to. The kids at HBA were nice to him and all cause he was the prince, but no one really talked to him. At least not more than was necessary. You'd think he'd be pretty popular with a big ego or something cause he was rich and his parents owned the place, but the truth was the other kids were afraid of him. They were afraid of talking to him because who knows if what they talked about would be found offensive or maybe even repeated. No one wanted to risk that so they just stuck to acknowledging his presence whenever they saw him, and that was that. Demyx, however, was different. He didn't really seem to care about the possible downsides of talking to Axel. All he saw was a lonely boy with a LOT on his mind. He needed someone to complain to and Demyx was there to listen. And boy did he have a lot of listening to do. The young prince would complain about various problems ranging from little insignificant things like math homework and his younger sister Kairi, to much larger things such as preparing to be the next king and the arranged marriage. In a lot of ways Demyx became the brother the boy so dearly needed.

But back to Axel. The wedding was set for October 27 and right now it was June 18. With time edging closer he began to grow restless with frustration. He already knew that this was going to be the _worst _summer of his life. Why? Because for the past three weeks the entire family and service crew have been preparing for the arrival of the Nabradia family, who were visiting to plan the wedding and to let the kids have some "togetherness" so they might bond. And not only were they staying for the whole summer, but right up until the wedding day. Then they would leave so that the two newlyweds could finish their final year of high school. Axel didn't even wanna think about what would happen after that.

Today was the day that his nightmare would begin. The Nabradia family would be arriving in about an hour, but headstrong teen refused to get ready. Instead he was laying back on his bed, still in his pajamas, his green iPod in hand, listening to whatever scream-o music he had. This was his way of protest. His mother on the other hand, was NOT gonna go for that.

"Axel! What are you still undressed for? They'll be here any minute and you look like a schlub!" She yanked his blaring headphone from his hears and attempted to glare. Lady Aerith wasn't really one for harsh words or gestures. Even when she was irritated with her son at the moment. She was fully aware of her son's disdain towards the marriage and it pained her to see him so unhappy, but she also knew this was arranged to prevent a war. It was a lose-lose situation indeed.

Axel shot her an annoyed expression. "Maybe I _wanna _look like a schlub. God forbid I should have a say about _something _that concerns me."

Aerith sighed heavily and he smiled. "Maybe they'll be so repulsed by my behavior and lack of etiquette, they'll decide that I'm not good enough for their daughter, and then pack up and leave." Of course that was only wishful thinking, but hey you gotta have hope right?

The queen placed a slender hand on his shoulder as she sat down next to him. "Sweetheart I know that you are terribly upset about this. . . .but I also know that you're aware why it has to be done. There is no other choice."

The boy sighed and placed an arm over his eyes. "I know, I know. To keep world peace and all that junk. _But why do I have to marry that girl to keep it? Why can't dad just let them share the trade system and_ have equal control? Why does he have to hurt me just so that guy can have what he wants?"

"You know it wouldn't be that easy. How would we know that Rasler won't try and take over the system for himself? We can't just trust him. He's a power hungry king. There's no way we could possibly trust him."

"Well if we couldn't trust him to keep his word on that plan then how do we know he'll keep it for this one?" Axel shot back.

She sighed again. "There really is no way of knowing. But we know that this will keep him happy and I'm sure that as long as he's happy everything will be fine."

"So our only concern is to see if _he's _the one who's happy? Not your _son _or even his daughter? Does no one care if we're happy? Do you really expect us to just go along with this just for everyone else's benefit?"

"Axel—"

"No! How do you expect me to not only marry that girl but also start a family? Cause I know that's what I'll have to do to continue the family line. How can I do that if I don't love her? I barely even like her." Yes he would have to have children to keep the monarchy going. But he couldn't do that! Wasn't all of this stuff was supposed to be done with the person you loved? Not some chick your parents set you up with. He could not, no, _would not _bring children into a loveless marriage. Heck, he didn't even want kids at all. He really didn't care for them.

Aerith finally spoke, "Just. . . .pretend for now ok? Please" She gave him a desperate look. He removed his arm to reveal one eye catching her expression. He groaned and sat up knowing he had lost again. As he trudged over to his closet he could swear there was a smirk on her face as she exited the messy room.

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Walking rather slowly down the various hallways toward the entrance of the castle, Axel examined himself. A gray untucked dress shirt with sleeves rolled up a bit below his elbow, dark jeans with a black studded belt, and gray chuck taylors. Mom didn't say _how _he had to dress and he's be dammed if those people took his style from him. He always had to dress very nicely around the Nabradia's so they had never seen his true sense of style. He was kinda hoping that they would see how he normally dresses all summer and be appalled and find him to be not good enough for their daughter. He grinned at his optimism.

Now it wasn't exactly that Axel had something against Larxene Nabradia. She was ok and sorta cool. She could be extremely irritating sometimes but it wasn't anything worse than his little sister. Yeah she was an alright kind of gal. He just wasn't into her that way. Or anyone at all for that matter. Axel's had girlfriends before but he was never really into them. His relationships would only last about a couple of weeks before he would decide that it was going nowhere. He could never find a girl he liked and develop anything deeper. He had broken his share of hearts before he decided to just give up on dating for a while. He hadn't had a date in about a year and he was fine with that at first. But being alone for so long gets…well….lonely.

He had talked to Kairi about this one night just to see if it was the girls that really were the problem or if there was something wrong with him. She had said that he just hadn't found the right person yet and that they were out there trying to get here as fast as they can. But he has to be patient and open minded because if not then they could pass right by and then he'd be screwed for life.

He knew that she was probably right. That girl was wise beyond her years. Although, he wasn't too sure why she had chosen to use the word "they" instead of "she."

"Ven, help me with this please! Her junk is too heavy for me alone!"

Axel snapped back into the real world and searched for the troubled voice. He noticed that a spikey blond haired boy close to Kairi's age, toting (dragging actually) a rather large green suitcase which bore the Nabradia family crest. So they had arrived.

"Well today is officially the first day of the end of your life." Axel thought sadly. He headed towards the boy more quickly than normal. The poor kid was too small to be carrying something twice his size.

"Here, let me help with that." Axel offered as he grabbed to suitcase with ease. The blond seemed offended.

"No that's quite alright. I can handle this myself sir."

Now it was the taller boy's turn to be offended. He despised the fact that people called him sir. Especially people his own age.

"My father is a sir. _I'm_ not a sirto _anyone_. Not yet at least." He had tried his best to cover the bitterness in his tone but failed. The small boy flinched.

"I apologize sir, but I have been raised to show respect for those of a higher status than myself. And I don't know your name either. Therefore, I am really left with one choice." He took a step forward and reached out for the bag. The prince held it with one hand and placed the other on the boy's forehead, blocking him.

"I _told _you that I've got it. And for arguments sake, call me Axel from now on. No matter what- got that?"

The younger boy nodded warily and Axel removed his hand, but the blonde's frustrated expression remained.

"Ok then _Axel _, I need that bag or else miss Larxene will be upset with me."

"Why? She can get over it. It's too heavy for you and you shouldn't be forced to do _her _job."

It was almost as if Axel were speaking in tongues. The boy couldn't understand his reasoning at all. And was shocked at the way he talked about the royal family. And for thinking that they should be the ones to do the dirty work instead of him. It was utter nonsense. The blond shook his head.

"That's not how things work. I am beneath them in class, plus this is my job. I couldn't say no if I even wanted to.

This confused Axel."Why not? And what do you mean it's your job.?"

"My family has worked for the Nabradia's for generations. They use us for just about everything, so we live in the castle. They supply us with food, shelter, and basic necessities and in return we supply eternal labor. If I quit now I would have to start over from the bottom."

Axel sighed. So he was a servant? He couldn't help but hurt for the kid. Axel wasn't exactly fond of the idea of a servant. Why would you have someone else do something that you can do yourself? Unless your completely without limbs or functions. His parents felt the same way. Well they had a few maids since the Queen wasn't able to do _everything _herself, a cook and gardeners, but that was it. Everything else was done on their own.

Axel was about to say something when he was interrupted by another boy, who look exactly like the one Axel had been talking to, running their way.

"Roxas come one! There's only one more bag and I need your help getting it inside." He looked at Axel then back to Roxas. "You can chat with the rest of the staff later ok?"

Ha! He thought that the prince was the help. But then again, he _was _holding a suitcase and his attire wasn't exactly royal-like. Either way, Axel didn't bother to correct him. He would find out on his own anyway.

"Where the hell were you when I needed help with Larxene's bag?" Roxas questioned, turning to face his doppelganger. "I called for you."

"I thought you said you could handle it?" Axel countered with a smirk.

Roxas turned slightly pink as he faced the prince. "I did, but…"

The Roxas look-alike grew impatient. "But nothing. Just help me with this last nag before everyone comes inside and we get yelled at." He took Roxas by the arm to lead him outside.

"I guess I'll see you later Axel."

"Yeah. See ya."

And he hoped that he would.

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Axel watched after the two boys until they had exited the front doors.

"Well that was interesting." He thought.

Realizing that he was still holding Larxene's suitcase, he searched the hall for the rest of the family's luggage. It wasn't even a second after he set the thing down that everyone entered the hall. He sighed and struggled to put on a fake smile.

"Oh Axel sweetheart, look who is here! Say hello to everyone." His mother trilled with excitement.

Swallowing every last bit of his pride, he greeted everyone with convincing graciousness. Damn he should have been an actor! Oh well, just another dream gone down the drain.

While the two families were conversing about the long trip to Hollow Bastion, how much the children have grown, and of course the wedding, Roxas and the other boy had rejoined the group. Axel smiled at Roxas. He seemed like an alright guy. Maybe they could be friends? Roxas smiled back. Soon the castle's servants entered the hall as well to join the Gainsborough family. King Reno clasped his hands together before addressing the royal family.

"Well is this everyone?"

This time Queen Ashe spoke. "Yes. I believe introductions are in order. We have two servants with us whom you've never met. They should get to know you and the staff." She turned to the boys. "Roxas, Ventus step forward please."

The boys did as they were told and took two steps towards the host family, looking rather intimidated.

Ashe continued, "Now tell them who you are."

A boy dressed in black in white garments spoke up, "I am Ventus Hikari." He bows when he is finished.

The other dressed in black and red and white clothes introduces himself, "And I am Roxas Hikari." And he bows as well.

"We're twins." Both boys announce.

Aerith smiles tenderly and starts her own introduction. "I am Queen Aerith." And she turns to her husband.

"I am King Reno."

Kairi curtsies, "I'm princess Kairi."

Now it was Axel's turn, "Prince Axel. Sup?" he gave the boys a winsome smile and to him, there was nothing funnier than the look of pure shock on their faces. They almost forgot to look at the cook when he addressed himself. The twins were gonna be a lot of fun. He could tell. Maybe this summer wouldn't suck after all.


End file.
